Cancer Survivor Preaches Self Love, Prosperous Living

Bershan Shaw, a stage four cancer survivor, uses her life to help motivate woman to not only love themselves, but to also be their best.

As a pillar of Black womanhood, Bershan Shaw exemplifies courage, confidence, strength, and positivity. As a nine year cancer survivor, motivational speaker, and writer, she emphasizes the importance of Black woman loving and caring for themselves.

During a Love You Experience meeting/ Mother’s Day brunch May 7, part of a broader “I am a Warrior” two-city tour, Shaw spoke to a room full of women at the Crystal City Hilton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia about finding their inner warrior through love. Celebrity Chef Pat Neely, known for a line of family barbeque restaurants in the South and international speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur Cheryl Wood accompanied Shaw on her tour. The tour is part of the “URAWARRIOR” developmental community that Shaw founded.

“I realized that, in life, if you have God and you really connect with God, you have everything,” Shaw told the AFRO. “So I realized that when I started to connect with God and I started to do the work, I started praying, I started getting on my knees and really saying God if you keep me alive, I will help thousands of millions of women; help them step into their greatest.”

Her next visit to the area will be on June 13 at the Westin Crystal City Hotel in Arlington. The dress attire suggested for attendees throughout the tour is red, the true color of love, according to Shaw.

Shaw’s motivational business resulted from her battle with stage four breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2007, went into remission and then diagnosed with it again two years later. She said she uses the tour to share the lessons she has learned with Black women along with motivating and advising them to eat healthier, maintain better relationships and put themselves first.

“I’ve only been here five minutes and @bershanshaw is giving me so much life!” brittneys tweeted about the event on May 7.

Shaw is also part of the cast of the New York City-based “Love in the City,” a reality TV show that focuses on four professional women navigating through their lives and friendships. Shaw has also been featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), ABC7 in D.C., Centric, PIX11 in New York and the Huffington Post.

However, although inspiring, not all were moved by Shaw’s message of self love or her prices, which start at about $200 for individual workshops, according to her website, or around $9,000 for groups of 25 people or less, according to a price sheet she provided to attendees.

“I think there’s lots of different venues or avenues that people can use to get this same type of ‘finding yourself’ message or experience,” a Virginia fashion entrepreneur who attended the Love You Experience brunch told the AFRO. “There are a lot of motivational speakers out here that are on various levels. Also people can go to psychologists and use there health insurance to subsidize the cost as opposed to paying the amount of money for this type of service.” She said that people should shop around and choose the best option that fits them price wise.